This is a whirlwind book that will keep you on your toes. This takes you through the life of three kids who live in a small town outside of Boston with a dead-beat mom. She goes out every Saturday night and picks up a new guy to bring home for a one night stand, until her son, Matthew (the main character of the story) meets this guy named Murdoch at a convenience store. He finds his address on a computer and plans on going to meet him, but the address gets found by his mom and she thinks that he is trying to hook her up with a guy. They meet and all of the Saturday nights stop, and she is actually settling down until she acts really crazy around him and he breaks up with her, and all of her old ways come back, but even worse then before.
This is about the will of three kids trying to get a better life, away from their crazy mom. The three kids are Matthew, Callie, and Emmy and they all want the better life for each other and for themselves. Some things they try to do to get away are very crazy; Matt goes to meet their dad who they haven't seen for a very long time to try and go and live with him. What they come to realize later in the story is that they aren't going to get the life they have always wanted, they are going to have to live with what they have got. Meaning they have to play the hand with the cards they were dealt. All and all, this is a very good read and it is worth while to read.